Page 45 of Bride of the Sea King

I chuckled. “Maybe not.”

A soft sigh left her. “Joa said I have to dry the plant for a while. Do you have anywhere I can hang it?”

“You can tie a few of the reeds to whatever you want. Except the books.”

“I would never defile them,” she said, feigning solemnity.

My lips curved. “You need help getting to bed, don’t you?”

“No. I can do it.” Her answer was too quick.

She was stubborn. I respected her independence, but she was only sore because of the changes my magic had put her through. I wasn’t going to let her struggle through that alone.

I stood, lifting her smoothly to her feet with me. She made a noise of complaint, but leaned against me heavily when I helped her walk to the bed. With the lightest brush of my magic, I pulled the water off her skin and out of her hair, leaving it in the lake. She shivered, leaning against me more.

“How are we supposed to resist jumping each other’s bones constantly if our magic turns each other on so much?” she murmured.

“We aren’t.”

“Helpful,” she grumbled. “Thanks for drying me off.”

“Any time.” I eased her down to the mattress and pulled the blankets over her legs. She tugged them to her chin, turning onto her side so she faced away from me.

“I’m just going to take a nap.” Her words were so heavy with exhaustion that I felt bad for not bringing her home sooner. Our trip to the cliffs had been her idea, but she wasn’t sure what it took to keep herself healthy at the moment. And she certainly hadn’t finished adjusting completely to my world.

“It’s nighttime anyway, so you may as well sleep until the sun rises.”

Aria let out a relieved breath and muttered something that sounded like,“Thank fuck.”

It took everything I had to ignore the urge to slip into bed with her, but the woman clearly wasn’t ready for that. So, I stepped away from the mattress and took a seat on a chair nearby.

After she was asleep, I’d bandage the wound on her arm that she’d ignored. Then, I’d handle whatever shit Rayna needed me to do. My mate could rest safely in our sanctuary while I dealt with the kingdom’s messes. Hopefully, she would hate our situation less after I gave her some space.

eleven

ARIA

When I eventually opened myeyes, I had no idea how much time had passed. It felt like a lot, because my eyes were dry and gritty and my skin felt kind of itchy. I scratched the scales on my back without rolling over, then looked down at my chest in alarm as I checked to make sure they hadn’t fallen out.

If they fell out, I could get pregnant.

And I hadn’t been able to use Triton’s plant yet, so that would’ve been bad. Really bad.

A relieved breath escaped me when I found them firmly in place.

The itchiness must’ve been from something else.

I rolled over with a loud groan.

I was still crazy sore. More sore than I’d ever been before. I’d never been big on working out, but I’d been to the gym a few times in the past. The soreness I felt now was on an entirely different level than it had ever been. I could barely move.

Lifting my head, I scanned the room with a bleary gaze, expecting to find Triton sitting in a chair or something.

He wasn’t.

My forehead creased, and I blinked more sleep from my eyes.

That couldn’t be right.

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